It makes me sad to say it, but April is going to be my last month in Boulder for the next few years (at least). I moved here in August, 2003 as a wee freshman at CU, and now I am leaving it 7 years and 200 credits later. I have had a glorious time, met a few lifelong friends, and grown as a person. However, there is a lot of fun to accomplish in my last month here.

The list (not exhaustive) is as follows:
1. Go to Lollicup and drink bubble tea
2. Take photos from the lookout on a clear day
3. Go gambling at Blackhawk
4. Brunch at Lucille’s
5. Happy Hour at Centro
6. Run Flagstaff
7. Throw a hipster party
8. Thursday night cruiser ride
9. Bike to Glacier and consume ice cream, bike home

10. Play frisbee and have a picnic at Chautauqua

11. Trike night at the Dark Horse
12. Southern Sun
13. Have a beer frisbee gathering in our back yard
14. Go to the North Boulder Park
15. Have coffee at Amante, Saxy’s, and buy a treat from Spruce Confections
16. Go mini golfing
17. Watch the tubers on the creek
18. Hang out at the Boulder Book Store
19. Take photos of the houses on the hill (especially my favorite on 7th!)
20. Go to a concert at Macky
21. Read on my back porch
22. Banjo Billy Bus Tour!
23. Go local Boulder wine tasting
24. Go to the Tea House
25. Boulder Falls
26. Hit up the farmer’s market
27. Visit the reservoir
28. Hang out at the library
29. Give a walking tour of campus
30. Walk around downtown
31. Walk on the Boulder Creek Path
32. Go on a weekly date
33. Throw a dinner party

I am sure that I have missed something. If you can think of anything that needs to be added to the list, do let me know, and if you are in town, please join me!!! Until then, I will be basking in the sunshine, enjoying the bipolar swing to happy as my SAD lifts after this long winter. There is green grass today, for the first time!!!

The future to come is less clear- but it does involve a trip to a tropical location where I can surf and eat pineapple (suggestions and travel buddies welcome) and then a move to Portland or Saint Louis come July. Fingers crossed for Portland- expecting Saint Louis, woo!

Last Friday I headed to Portland for 5 days of sheer delight.  I had been wanting to go there for some time, ever since I heard rumors of Oregon’s beauty and the hipsters who flock to this haven of good food, music, and cycling. I was greeted by my old friend Justin, and he graciously showed me around the downtown by foot as we caught up on life events since high school.  Looking back, we have both done an awful lot of interesting traveling.  I was immediately impressed by the beautiful cherry blossoms that were everywhere, and we hit up the legendary Voodoo Donut for some vegan treats.

Before long, it was time for us to get ready for the Prom.  That’s right, Med School Prom.  As it happens, Justin and I attended Homecoming at Cherry Creek High School together in 1999.  We had to replicate the classic picture of him standing on a rock to be taller than me.  We went in a group of his friends from college, all of which were really nice, and I met a bevy of generous students who were more than willing to share their views of the school with me.  Before we hit the prom at the hip Jupiter Hotel, we had delightful Italian food at Il Pattio which I strongly reccomend if you are in Portland.  Before long, it was 3am and we were settling in to watch some Finding Nemo after filling our bellies with grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.  It was a great night!

The next day we had a slow start, but a good start at that.  We went to grab a late breakfast at Portland’s legendary food carts.  We ended up with delightful burritos which were enough to fuel our next adventure.  We drove out of the city to Sauvie Island, a beautiful isla across the Columbia river.  We spent our afternoon biking down the lovely country lane, stealing views of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, the river, and the flowers that were everywhere.  We made it 14 miles (with a break for poppyseed bread by the river).  I could not get over the beauty, and the whole ride smelled like honeysuckles in clean spring air.  It was awesome!

That night, we ended up at a fabulous and low key Thai place (my new favorite type of restaurant).  After some drunken noodles, we headed to the Mississippi Studios for a free concert.  We saw a lot of the folky and fun music scene that Portland has to offer, and I found a new awesome band- Run on Sentence.  I went to bed that night exhausted and satisfied.

Sunday started out in much the same way.  We slept in, and then headed for another one of Portland’s gustatory go-to’s: the Waffle Window.  A large cup of coffee and a banana caramel waffle later, we hopped in the car and headed for Multnomah Falls, the sixth largest waterfall in the US.  It also had a beautiful view of the Columbia River, and lots of tourists.  We got away from most of the crowd by hiking to the top, a quick jaunt that yielded beautiful sweeping views, a dizzyingly high vantage point looking down the falls, and a slight burn in the calves.  That night we went to a poetry slam, and I learned that Justin is a talented poet!  Yet another great day!

On Monday, Justin’s roommate Justin graciously let me tag along on his trip to the Oregon coast with his friend Dave (they met in Peace Corps).  We went for a long and windy/rainy walk down the famous Cannon Beach and ended up at Mo’s, famous for its clam chowder (rightfully so!).  As expected, the views were breathtaking, and many of the rock formations reminded me of the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road.  Later that afternoon, we paid a visit to Astoria, the town featured in the Goonies.  There wasn’t too much there, actually, but we did find a nice bowling alley to play at (I got an 85 and an 86, woo!).  We detoured by Tillamook on our way home, and tasted fresh cheese curds, fudge, and ice cream- yum!

That night, I met up with my next kind host, Adeline.  She showed me her musical talents and listened kindly to my pre-interview neuroses, and then we went to bed late!

We woke up bright and early, and headed to campus for my interview day.  It could have gone better. That night, we took an exciting trip to the Pearl District, famous for its Japanese restaurants.  I guess we didn’t know which part to go to though, and we ended up at Noodles right before it closed.  Fortunately, we did make it to the famous Powell’s books while waiting for the streetcar in the rain, and eventually we made it home safe.  Overall, it was a great trip!  Oh, and did I mention how beautiful Portland is in the Spring? So much is in bloom!

Oh my.  Since my midwest trip, much has been occurring in terms of thoughts and plans for the future.  In general, I have been tutoring a lot, getting marginally better at squash, and watched a sickening amount of Olympics (which I love!).  I justify my couch potato syndrome because the Olympics are only on every two years, and because they are worth it.  It’s settled.  Fortunately we had another blizzard which provided extra motivation to stay inside.  I always want to know what everyone’s favorite events are, but for me this year it was figure skating (I love you, Kim Yu-Na), snowboarding, and the cross country ski relays.  Delightful!  I did enjoy other things like speed skating, but I just cannot get over the bad taste in my mouth left by Apolo Ohno’s less-than-classy blaming of the Canadian judges (let alone his stupid facial hair).  That was actually a big theme in this Olympics- watching the character of the athletes in competition, and the character of their reactions to adverse events.  As much as Apolo failed to impress in the second regard, Evan Lysacek’s reaction to Plushenko’s less than classy comments was a nice display of maturity.

In my couch-potato-dom, I also watched Julie and Julia, and realized several things.  First and foremost, my brainpower is steadily declining.  Teaching other people things that I know is not stimulating enough to keep my own brain strong and swift.  I need to start learning new things again.  So, when I return from Portland, it is back to the French, the physiology, and the Spanish.  The movie made me miss French, and want to cook glorious French cuisine.  Therefore, I am going to hold a dinner party as well.  Bon Apetit!

We also had fun house-guests, Alex and Melissa, who after 8 days were able to locate a lovely house in Downtown Boulder, as well as at least one real job, and are now happy Boulder residents.  Yay!  Sarah (above seen watching the snow fall) has opened my eyes to some of the smaller but greater pleasures in life:  Morrissey (how did I go so long without knowing about them!), and putting cinnamon in with coffee grounds before brewing them. Yum! I am obsessed! Finally, I watched a fascinating TED presentation by Bill Gates about a new clean energy source- teraenergy (sp?).  It basically uses the waste from traditional nuclear energy as a source of energy itself- thus eliminating the toxic storage problem that so many cite as a reason to avoid using nuclear.  It is a really interesting video-  if you have 20 minutes, you should watch it!

I’m off to Portland on Friday for Med School Prom, Voodoo Donuts, Powell’s Books, a party, hiking at Mt. St. Helens, exploration, and of course, an interview.  Wish me luck!  Updates and photos next week!